Digital personal assistance via a broadband access gateway

ABSTRACT

A system and method supporting access, coordination, modification, updating, and management of multiple sources of multimedia information resident on a plurality of access devices is disclosed. A broadband access gateway may support applications that perform user services involving multiple sources of multimedia information across a network by acting as a focal point for access to multimedia information related to the applications. Using information that identifies such sources, the broadband access gateway may coordinate modification of one or more multimedia information sources based upon the content of other related sources of multimedia information. One such application may include the coordination of calendars for the planning of a meeting involving multiple participants. A representative embodiment of the present invention may identify available meeting dates and times, and the placement of reservations for appropriate travel accommodations using services accessible to the broadband access gateway via a broadband network.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application makes reference to, claims priority to, andclaims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.60/563,894, entitled “Method And System For Handling And BackhaulingTraffic From A Wired And/Or Wireless WAN, LAN, And/Or PAN Using ABroadband Access Gateway” (Attorney Docket No. 15656US01 BP3607), filedApr. 16, 2004, the complete subject matter of which is herebyincorporated herein by reference, in its entirety.

The present application makes reference to U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/021,294, entitled “Method And System For Extended Network AccessServices Advertising Via A Broadband Access Gateway” (Attorney DocketNo. 15723US02 BU3607.2), filed Dec. 23, 2004, the complete subjectmatter of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference, in itsentirety.

The present application also makes reference to U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/039,020, entitled “Method And System For ProvidingRegistration, Authentication, And Access Via A Broadband Access Gateway”(Attorney Docket No. 15724US02 BU3607.3), filed Jan. 18, 2005, thecomplete subject matter of which is hereby incorporated herein byreference, in its entirety.

The present application also makes reference to U.S. patent applicationSer. No. ______, entitled “Registering Access Device Multimedia ContentVia a Broadband Access Gateway” (Attorney Docket No. 15726US02BU3607.5), filed ______, the complete subject matter of which is herebyincorporated herein by reference, in its entirety.

The present application also makes reference to U.S. patent applicationSer. No. ______ entitled “Location Based Directories Via A BroadbandAccess Gateway” (Attorney Docket No. 15727US02 BU3607.6), filed ______,the complete subject matter of which is hereby incorporated herein byreference, in its entirety.

The present application also makes reference to U.S. patent applicationSer. No. ______ entitled “Location-Aware Application Based Quality ofService (QoS) Via A Broadband Access Gateway” (Attorney Docket No.15728US01 BU3607.7), filed ______, the complete subject matter of whichis hereby incorporated herein by reference, in its entirety.

The present application also makes reference to U.S. patent applicationSer. No. ______ entitled “Enhanced Caller ID Information Based On AccessDevice Information Via A Broadband Access Gateway” (Attorney Docket No.15730US02 BU3607.9), filed ______, the complete subject matter of whichis hereby incorporated herein by reference, in its entirety.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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MICROFICHE/COPYRIGHT REFERENCE

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

One major common problem faced by cellular and landline serviceproviders is market competition. In today's climate of competitivemarkets, cellular service providers have found that one way for them togrow market share and defend their businesses is to be proactive andform alliances, and to partner with landline service providers. Inaddition, cellular service providers seek to differentiate their serviceofferings, and to capture the largest portion of market revenue bymeeting an ever increasing demand for access to a wide range of mediaforms such as MP3 encoded audio, still and video imaging, data, instantmessaging, and email. In a similar manner, the landline serviceproviders have found that to grow market share and ward off competition,they too must be proactive and form alliances, and to partner withcellular service providers. Support for broad economical access to theseconverging forms of communication is needed to enable unfettered marketgrowth, and to support the development and use of new handheld devicesneeded to provide increasing levels of mobile multimedia communicationfunctionality.

Although the formation of alliances and partnerships between cellularservice providers and landline service providers may help to ward offcompetition, such alliances and partnerships are faced with otherproblems. For example, the erection of cellular infrastructure such ascellular towers may be an expensive venture since this may requireacquisition of real estate, whether in the form of outright purchases orthrough leasing. Cellular infrastructure also requires the establishmentof one or more expensive backbone links to handle core network traffic.Another cellular-related problem is that the cellular signals do notpenetrate and propagate in buildings such as homes and offices verywell. This is especially true with the frequencies that are typicallyutilized in the United States, which may vary between 800 MHz and 1900MHz or 1.9 GHz.

The use of digital media is growing at an extremely rapid pace. Mostconsumers today have a variety of devices that gather, store, process,generate, communicate, play back, and/or display informationelectronically, in a digital form. Examples of such devices includedigital still and video cameras, personal digital assistants (PDAs),laptop and desktop personal computer (PC) systems, video cassetterecorders (VCRs), personal video recorders (PVRs), document and photoscanners, digital and high definition television sets, stereo audioequipment, and cellular phones, to name only a few. A majority of thesedevices produce and/or store digital information related to the peopleand interactions that are a part of the life of the owner. Additionalmultimedia information sources may be accessible via, for example, theInternet.

Many of the sources of multimedia information may be of interest to anumber of people. For example, a calendar or phonebook belonging to oneindividual may be of interest to others, who may wish to make changeswhile coordinating schedules. Some multimedia information sources arerelated to subjects of interest to large numbers of people including,for example, hobbies, political and sports personalities, sports teams,travel, and the like. Although at any point in time large numbers ofusers may be accessing any particular information source, each does sowithout knowledge of the others. Individuals with particular hobbies andinterests must, in general, seek out others with similar interests byactively searching for forums, chat rooms, web logs, and similarcommunications tools.

Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditionalapproaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, throughcomparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention asset forth in the remainder of the present application with reference tothe drawings.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system and/or method supporting digital personal assistancefunctionality for a plurality of access devices, substantially as shownin and/or described in connection with at least one of the figures, asset forth more completely in the claims.

These and other advantages, aspects, and novel features of the presentinvention, as well as details of illustrated embodiments, thereof, willbe more fully understood from the following description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an architecture of an exemplarycommunications system in which a representative embodiment of thepresent invention may be practiced.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram illustrating an exemplary communicationsystem, in accordance with a representative embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3A shows a block diagram illustrating greater detail of anexemplary communication system that may correspond, for example, to aportion of the communication system of FIG. 2, that supports digitalpersonal assistance functionality, in accordance with a representativeembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3B shows a block diagram illustrating of another exemplarycommunication system that may correspond, for example, to thecommunication system of FIG. 2, that supports digital personalassistance functionality for access devices outside of the coverage areaof the personal area network supported by the wireless interface of thegateway, in accordance with a representative embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3C shows an illustration of an exemplary meeting planner screenthat may be displayed on an access device such as, for example, theaccess device of FIG. 3B upon activation of a meeting plannerapplication such as, for example, the meeting planner application ofFIG. 3B, in accordance with a representative embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3D shows a block diagram illustrating of an exemplary communicationsystem that may correspond, for example, to the communication system ofFIG. 2, that supports access to functions and/or services by the digitalpersonal assistance functionality by access devices supported by thegateway or the router of FIG. 2, in accordance with a representativeembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3E shows a block diagram illustrating greater detail of anexemplary communication system that may correspond, for example, to aportion of the communication system of FIG. 2, that supports digitalpersonal assistance functionality, in accordance with a representativeembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary method of providing digitalpersonal assistance functionality via a broadband access gateway suchas, for example, the gateway and the router of FIGS. 2, 3A, 3B, 3D, inaccordance with a representative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an exemplary method of tracking and identifyingusers of frequently accessed multimedia information or services, inaccordance with a representative embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Aspects of the present invention relate to the seamless merging of widearea networks, from any kind of wired and/or wireless wide areanetworks, to pockets of wired and/or wireless local area networks andpersonal area networks, which may be located in homes or otherenvironment such as an office or business. More specifically, aspects ofthe present invention relate to providing digital personal assistancefunctionality via a broadband access gateway. The digital personalassistance functionality may support the use of a single user interfaceto access multiple information sources, permitting the coordinated useand management of information of different types by a variety of accessdevices. The digital personal assistance functionality may be supportedby a broadband access gateway that permits broadband network access via,for example, a personal cellular microcell, a personal area network(PAN), a wired or wireless wide area network (WAN), wireless local areanetwork (WLAN) or other type of network located within a premises suchas, for example, a home, office, business, or the like. Services thatmay be available via such a broadband gateway connection include, forexample, access to the public switched telephone network (PSTN);Internet protocol (IP) phone access; extended access to commercialcellular and PCS networks such as, for example, TDMA, CDMA, and GSM; andaccess to and/or control of a variety of multimedia access devices ornetworked resources capable of providing streams of images, stillpictures, video, and audio; to name only a few. Examples of multimediainformation include streaming video, broadcast video, voice, digitaldata, text, digitized audio, digitized still images, digitized video,and digitized music. The merging of these various types of networks mayenable transparent communication of all types of media between accessdevices, which may be coupled in a wired or wireless fashion to one ormore of these networks. In an embodiment of the present invention,access to services available through a wireless broadband gateway may besimplified, permitting their use by a wider group of users of accessdevices in, for example, homes, offices, and businesses.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an architecture of an exemplarycommunications system in which a representative embodiment of thepresent invention may be practiced. Referring to FIG. 1, there is showna first location 102, a second location 104, a broadband access provider(BAP) 106, public switched telephone network (PSTN) 108, a transportnetwork 110, wireless networks including CDMA network 112 and GSMnetwork 114, and access devices 126 and 128. The first location 102comprises a gateway 118 having a modem 116, a wireless interface(s)block 120, and the access devices 122, 124. The access devices 122, 124,126, 128 may comprise, for example, a mobile multimedia handset having ahigh level of functionality such as, for example, that of one or more ofa digital video or still camera, a portable audio (MP3) player, apersonal digital assistant, and a voice handset. The access devices 122,124, 126, 128 may be capable of operating using, for example, a personalarea network and/or wireless local area network compliant with, forexample, Bluetooth, IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n, and/or IEEE 802.15.3aultra-wideband standards. The second location 104 comprises a router 130having a modem 132, and a plurality of wireless access devices. Theplurality of wireless access devices at the second location 104 maycomprise a personal computer (PC) 138, a laptop 136 and a wirelesspersonal digital assistant (PDA) 134. A peripheral such as a digitalcamera 142 may be coupled to the personal computer 138. Otherperipherals such as printers, digital scanners, speakers, and the like,which are not shown, may also be coupled to the personal computer 138and/or laptop 136. The wireless interface block 120 may comprise aplurality of interfaces such as a Bluetooth interface, an IEEE 802.15.3aultra-wideband interface, and any combination of an IEEE 802.11 a, b, gand/or n interface.

FIG. 1 also comprises an “other broadband access provider” block 144, an“other cellular/PCS service provider” block 146, a central control andmanagement block 148, and content provider 150. The “other broadbandaccess provider block 144” may be, for example, a cable, DSL, or othertype of broadband access provider. The central control and managementblock 148 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry and/or code that may beadapted to handle content delivery and security functions such asauthentication, validation, key or certificate management, andauthorization. The central control and management block 148 may also beadapted to handle provisioning and service management. In arepresentative embodiment of the present invention, the central controland management block 148 may establish communications links with, forexample, the gateway 118, the broadband access provider 106, the otherbroadband access provider 144, the other cellular/PCS service provider146, the CDMA network 112, and the GSM network 114 using actual orvirtual connections.

The broadband access provider 106 may be, for example, a cable operator,telephone company, or satellite operator providing Internet access alongwith other communication services. In instances where BAP 106 is atelephone company, broadband service to locations 102, 104 may beprovided via DSL or other broadband access technology. Accordingly, themodems 116, 132 may be DSL modems. In instances where BAP 106 is a cableoperator, broadband service to locations 102, 104 may be provided viacable. Accordingly, the modems 116, 132 may be DOCSIS compliant or othertype of cable modem. Given the rapid decrease in the cost of leasedtelephone lines over the past decade or more, the connection to thelocation 102, 104 may also be T1 or T3 connections. For example, aswitch located at a central office (CO) (not shown) may be utilized tocouple a T1 or T3 connection between the second location 104 and thePSTN 108.

The gateway 118 may comprise an integrated DSL modem, cable modem orother high-speed modem that may be required for handling a connectionsuch as a T1 or T3 connection. Alternatively, the gateway 118 may becoupled to an external DSL modem, cable modem or other high-speed modemthat may be capable of handling connections such as a T1 or a T3connection. The gateway 118 may be adapted so that it has access toprotocol stack information that may be related to the GSM and/or CDMAnetworks 114, 112, respectively. The gateway 118 may also be adapted toprovide protocol support for communication with “other cellular/PCSservice provider” block 146.

Each of the CDMA and GSM networks 112, 114 may comprise a plurality ofcell sites (a/k/a cellular towers) that are located in geographicalcells within each of the networks. Within the GSM network 114, each ofthe cell sites such as, for example, cell site 114 a may comprise a basetransceiver station (BTS), and one or more base transceiver stations(BTSs) may be coupled to wireless carrier central office 114 b. Thewireless carrier central office 114 b may comprise a base stationcontroller/radio network controller (BSC/RNC) such as BSC/RNC 114 d. Oneor more base station controllers/radio network controllers (BSCs/RNCs)may be coupled to the core network 114 e, that comprises a network edgeswitch called a mobile switching center (MSC), such as MSC 114 g, and aserving GPRS support node (SGSN)/packet data serving node (PDSN) 114 f,of the GSM network 114. The mobile switching center may be coupled to,for example, the PSTN 108 via the transport network 110. As an accessdevice moves out of range of a first cell site to within range of asecond cell site, the decrease signal power received from the first cellsite and the increase in signal power received from the second cell sitecauses initiation of handoff of a call from the first cell site to thesecond cell site. In cases where there is no second cell site to handoffto, the call may be maintained by the first cell site power until it isattenuated to a threshold where it is no longer feasible to maintain thecall. At the point where the power reaches or falls below thisthreshold, the call may drop and any related call resources may berelinquished. In a home and/or office environment, it may be desirableto have a second network to which the call may be handed off to.

As an illustration, a user may be on their way home and as the userapproaches their home, the signal may fall below a minimum signal powerthreshold that is required to maintain a call. However, instead ofdropping the call, the call may be handed off to, for example, a PAN ora wireless local area network (WLAN) that may be located within theuser's home or an unlicensed wireless access system that may be locatedin the user's home. For example, with reference to FIG. 1, as accessdevice 126 migrates from the vicinity of the serving cell site 114 a inGSM network 114 towards the wireless interface 120 in the first location102, the call may be handed off from the cell site 114 a GSM network 114to the wireless interface 120 coupled to the gateway (GW) 118 at thefirst location 102. Accordingly, instead of the call being dropped, thecall has been seamlessly handed off and is now being handled by thegateway 118 via the wireless interface 120. The resulting wireless datamay then be communicated to the GSM network 114 via the broadbandconnection to the BAP 106 which is connected to the broadband wirelesslocal area network controller (BWC) 114 c.

In this illustration, the user is handed off to their PAN, WLAN, orother network located within their home. However, the user could alsohave been handed off to another network system such as a neighbor'snetwork. In any case, a gateway coupled to the wireless interface whichis providing service to the user may communicate at least a portion ofthe data to, for example, the cable or DSL BAP 106, the GSM network 114,CDMA network 112, other broadband access service provider 144, othercellular/PCS service provider 146 and central control and managementblock 148. The user may be provided with a notification that indicatesthe presence of the PAN, WLAN, or other unlicensed network. For example,an icon representative of a personal area network may be displayed onthe screen of the access device 126 once a soft or hard handoff isachieved from a serving cell site in GSM network 114 to the wirelessinterface 120 at the first location 102. A special tone or other audioalert may also be utilized to indicate that the call has switched to thewireless interface 120.

In instances where the gateway 118 detects a compatible access devicethat may be within the range of the wireless interface 120, the gateway118 may immediately advertise its available services to the accessdevice. In this regard, the gateway 118 may be adapted to transmitservice advertisements to the access device in order to alert a user ofthe access device of the types of services that are being offered by thegateway 118. Signals containing icons representative of the services maybe transmitted to and displayed on a screen of the access device and/oraudio alerts may be utilized to notify the user of these services.

In another embodiment of the invention, quality of service (QoS) mayalso be advertised by the gateway 118. For example, when a user is beingserviced by the wireless interface 120, the gateway 118 may advertisethat stereo audio is available.

Access devices may be pre-registered so that when they are within therange of the wireless interface 120, the gateway 118 may automaticallyrecognize them. For the pre-registration, an administrator of thegateway 118 at the first location 102 may register access devices thatare allowed to access the gateway 118 when they are within the range ofthe wireless interface 120. Pre-registration may be done prior to theaccess device accessing the gateway 118. During pre-registration, anadministrator or owner of the gateway 118 may enter registration orconfiguration information such as device IDs of access devices belongingto friends and/or family member's into a registration databaseassociated with the gateway 118. As a result, these devices will beallowed to access at least a portion of the services offered by thegateway 118 whenever they attempt to access the gateway 118 by pressinga single button, for example. Opportunistic registration permits a userof an access device to register with the gateway 118 automatically withlittle or no effort on the part of the user. In this regard,registration information may be sent to the gateway 118 from an accessdevice during an initial access and the gateway 118 may chose to acceptor deny the registration. The registration information may beautomatically or manually sent to the gateway 118.

In certain instances, an access device may not have been pre-registeredto access the network. In this case, one button access may be provided.A single button such as a hard coded button or software-enabled buttonon an access device may be programmed to transmit identifyinginformation from the access device to the gateway 118. The gateway 118may utilize this transmitted identifying information to grant or denyaccess to its services. For example, one button may be programmed tocontain access device identifying information related to accessing theservices provided by gateway 118 at the first location 102. The gateway118 may also be adapted to utilize digital certificates to authenticateaccess devices.

An interactive process may also be provided, whereby the gateway 118 mayprompt or request particular information, for example a password from anaccess device requiring network access. If the particular information isreceived, then access to at least some of the services provided by thegateway 118 may be granted and if not, the access to at least some ofthe gateway's services may be denied.

In another embodiment of the invention, the one button access may beprovided via software-enabled button (soft button) or hardware-enabledbutton (hard button). In this regard, the software button may bedisplayed on a screen of an access device.

A “walled garden” approach may be utilized to provide access to theservices that may be offered by a particular gateway, for example,gateway 118. Under the walled garden approach, when an access devicefirst registers or is identified, a basic set of services may beprovided by the serving gateway 118 to the access device 124. The basicservices offered may vary among each gateway. At least some of the basicservices that are provided by a gateway such as gateway 118, may beoffered without authenticating the access device 124. However, otherservices may only be offered if an access device such as access device124 is properly authenticated. These services that are offered may beservices that were advertised by the gateway 118.

In an aspect of the invention, access to additional services may begranted based on, for example, user identity, access device identity andor user input. The services offered to an access device by a gateway maybe arranged in a hierarchical structure such as a tier. For example, ina first tier, a user may be prompted to enter membership informationsuch as a member identification number. Upon authentication of themembership identification number, the first tier may provide restrictedaccess with pop-up advertisements that may not be disabled. In a secondtier, for example, a user may be prompted to enter a password. Uponauthentication of the password, second tier information may providerestricted access to gateway services without pop-up advertisements. Ina third tier, for example, entering billing information such as anaccount number or credit card or check card number may provide unlimitedand/or unrestricted access to all the services offered by a gateway. Afourth tier may provide only operating instruction and information forguests.

An administrator of the gateway may establish the type of accessprovided by the walled garden. For example, if the first location 102 isa hotspot at a Café, the provider of the gateway may establish theservice access levels or tiers that may be provided by the gateway 118.

When an access device is within the range of the gateway 118, wirelessservice is handed off from a serving cell site 114 a in the GSM network114 to the gateway 118. The access device may be authenticated by thegateway 118 and permitted to access at least some of the servicesoffered by the gateway 118. Once the access device is authenticated, atleast a portion of the information on the access device may be madeavailable as a networked resource via the gateway 118. A user of theaccess device may chose whether information on the access device may bemade available to the gateway and if so, that information which will bemade available, and that information which will be unavailable to thegateway 118. In this regard, where information is made available, thegateway 118 may maintain a list of the resources that may be availableon access devices that may be coupled to the gateway 118. For example, alist of contact information, calendar information, audio files, videofile and/or data files stored on the access device may be sent to thegateway 118.

The resources that are available on the access device may also beadvertised to other access devices that may be in communication with thegateway 118. Advertisement of the resources that may be available on anaccess device may be restricted to, for example, a list of particulardevices, a particular type of devices or to a particular user.Accordingly, a user may have to be properly authenticated prior tocertain information being made available to the user. Additionally,advertisement of the resources may cause certain icons representative ofthe resources to be displayed on other access devices. In a similarmanner, icons representative of the resources that may be available onthese other access devices may also be presented on the access device.

An access device may be provided with a welcoming screen that may allowa user of a device to sign up for either free or paid services. Once thesignup is complete, subsequent access by the user may be authenticatedby the gateway 118 utilizing the signup information. Whenever an accessdevice registers with and/or is authenticated by the gateway 118,information on the access device may be updated and/or synchronized withinformation that may be on the gateway 118.

Devices within the location of the gateway 118 may be configured toregister certain portions of their data content with the gateway 118through a gateway registration process. Once data for these devices isregistered to the gateway 118, the gateway may maintain a database,which keeps track of the data that is available, and its location.Accordingly, if the data previously stored in the database is no longeravailable, then information representative of the previously stored datamay be removed from the database. Data from devices coupled to thegateway 118 such as on laptops, CD players, digital video disk (DVD)players, TIVO, personal video recorders (PVRs), personal digitalassistants (PDAs) and other devices, may be registered with the gateway118. This data may comprise audio, video, still pictures, and/or text.

At least a portion of the registered data may be made available to othernetwork access devices via the gateway 118. In an aspect of theinvention, the gateway 118 may be adapted to maintain a searchable listof data that may be available via the gateway. In this regard, thegateway may comprise a search engine that may be utilized to locate anddistribute data that may be made available through the gateway 118. Inanother aspect of the invention, data may be made available to accessdevices via advertising by the gateway 118. Access devices may beconfigured to seek out particular data that may be of interest.Accordingly, an access device may be adapted to receive and process onlythose gateway advertisements may fit particular criteria. Thoseadvertisements that may not fit the particular criteria may be discardedor ignored.

When an access device is within the range of the gateway 118, wirelessservice may be handed off from a serving cell site 114 a in the GSMnetwork 114 to the gateway 118. The access device may be authenticatedby the gateway 118 and permitted to access at least some of the servicesoffered by the gateway 118. Once the access device is authenticated, auser of the access device may have a desire to locate a particular videopresentation. The user may access the search engine, which may have beenadvertised to the user's access device by the gateway 118. The searchengine may appear on the display of the user's access device as an icon.The user may then activate a search by selecting the search engine icon,inputting a name of the video presentation and executing the search.

In another embodiment of the invention, the gateway may be adapted toclassify information based on a given criterion. This classification mayassist with locating information based on a particular criterion. Inthis regard, a user of the access device may be presented with a list ofclassifications and may select one, which may be of interest based on aparticular criterion. This may narrow the focus of a search.

The gateway may also be utilized to facilitate seamless synchronizationof data between devices that may be wired or wirelessly coupled to thegateway 118. For example, audio files located in a music folder on a PCcoupled to the gateway 118 may be synchronized with a wireless mediaplayer coupled to a hot spot in an airport while a user of the wirelessaccess media player waits to board a flight. In this regard, the gatewaymay determine what files need to be synchronized and control how thesynchronization is accomplished. The same is true for files that may bedownloaded from the PC to the wireless access media player, and forfiles that may be uploaded from the wireless access media player to thePC. Calendar and/or contact information may also be updated and/orsynchronized with a mobile multimedia handset in a similar mannerutilizing the gateway 118.

A location-aware service determines an approximate location of a networkdevice and adapts delivery of a particular service application and/orcontent according to a quality of service criterion. The delivery oflocation-aware services may be controlled by the gateway 118. Forexample, a user of an access device may request playback of an audioclip via the gateway 118. After receiving the request for playback ofthe audio clip, the gateway 118 may determine that a channel between thegateway 118 and the user's access device may only be capable ofmaintaining a reduced playback rate. As a result, instead of sending 128kbps encoded audio data, then the gateway may send 96 kbps data. Hence,in a case where the audio data was originally stored in 128 kbps sampledaudio data, then the gateway 118 may transcode the 128 kbps sampled datato 96 kbps audio data.

In another illustrative embodiment of the invention, while the GSMnetwork 114 is servicing the access device, lower compression rates maybe utilized to provide service to the access device. However, when theaccess device roams within range of the wireless interface 120 and isbeing served by the gateway 118 through wireless interface 120, highercompression rates may be utilized. For example, audio data sampled at adata rate of 64 kbps may be utilized for playback on an MP3 enabledtelephone while the phone is being serviced by a cell site 114 a in theGSM network 114. However, once the MP3 enabled telephone is within theoperating range of the wireless interface 120 and is being serviced bythe gateway 118, the gateway 118 may automatically adapt to a higherdata rate of, for example, 92 kbps or 128 kbps.

Automatic format conversion by the gateway 118 may include convertingdata from a first format to at least a second format suitable fordelivery and/or display on an access device. This may permit data thatwould otherwise be incompatible with a first access device to be playedon that first access device. For the location-aware services based onQoS, data was converted from a first format 128 kbps to a second format96 kbps to achieve and/or maintain a particular QoS, but the data typeremained the same. In this case, the audio format and/or its data typemay be different. For example, if the audio format was MP3, then afterthe conversion, the format remained WAV and/or the sampling rate mayhave decreased from 128 kbps top 96 kbps.

In conventional wired caller ID systems, a name and/or directory number(DN) of a calling party may be transferred either in-band or out-of-bandto a called party and may be displayed on the called party's caller IDdisplay when a call is answered. In these conventional systems, thecaller ID information is limited to a callers name, directory number(DN), general location and/or time of call. In wireless telephonesystems, in order to save on bandwidth, only a caller's directory numberis transferred and displayed to a calling party. However, if the callingparty's directory number and name is stored in the called party's phone,then the stored name and stored directory number will be presented on adisplay of the called party's terminal. In this case, the storeddirectory number is compared with the transferred caller's directorynumber, and if a match occurs, then a name corresponding to the matchingdirectory number is also displayed on the called party's terminal.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the gateway 118 isadapted to determine the appropriate caller ID information that may bedisplayed in a called and/or calling party's caller ID. In this case,reverse caller ID information may be displayed on both a calling and acalled parties terminal by the gateway 118.

If a called and/or calling device is a mobile multimedia handset and/orlaptop, for example, contact or other personal information may bedisplayed the caller's and/or calling party's directory number. Thelevel or amount of information that may be displayed may be varied.Certain sensitive information relating to either the called or callingparty may be restricted from being displayed.

In current cellular communication systems, over the air (OTA)programming is utilized to program a cellular telephone during theprovisioning process. In some instances, cellular providers haveestablished websites that may be utilized or OTA programming. In thisregard, a cellular subscriber may access the website and enterinformation such as the assigned directory number and the electronicserial number of the cellular telephone being programmed.

In accordance with a representative embodiment of the invention, anaccess device may be registered using over the air programming via thegateway 118. A user of an access device may send access deviceinformation to the gateway 118 using, for example, a default interfacethat may be presented to and displayed on a screen of the access devicewhen the access device first enters the service area of the wirelessinterface 120. During registration, the capabilities of an accessdevices may be sent to the gateway 118 and may be shared with devicesthat may be coupled to the gateway 118.

Since the gateway acts as a registrar of information for all the accessdevices that may be wired or wirelessly coupled to it, the gateway mayfunction as a personal digital assistant for any of these accessdevices. In an illustrative example, a first device, a first PC and asecond PC are being serviced by the gateway 118. The first access devicereceives a call and the caller ID information shows the callers name,home directory number and home address. However, the first PC containsthe business address for the caller and the second PC contains themonthly calendar information for the caller. Assume that the caller hada desire to setup a business meeting. In accordance with an aspect ofthe invention, the gateway 118 may be adapted to provide the businessaddress of the caller to the first access device and also provide thecaller's calendar to the first access device. In this manner, thenetwork centrally provides all the information necessary for schedulingthe meeting. In this example, the first PC may belong to the user of thefirst access device and the second PC may belong to the caller.

This concept may be extended to a look-up or 411 directory assistance onthe Internet. The lookup may also be location dependent. In this regard,if a user is located in Hollywood and requests a hotel location, thegateway 118 may only cause the hotels that are located in Hollywood tobe displayed to the user.

The gateway 118 may also be adapted to create profile information basedon data usage. These created profiles may be utilized to create socialnetworks for people having common interests. Accordingly, users may bepermitted to post their interests and also select those people havingsimilar interests based on the created profile. Based on the createdprofile information and the posted user interests, the gateway 118 mayalso generate a list of those people who have similar interest and alsothose users that may potentially have similar interests.

Given the capability to seamlessly operate an access device as onemigrates from outside the home into the home, it is desirable to have asingle device that may be adapted to control at least some of thedevices that may be found within the home. In addition to its normalvoice or data communication operating mode, an access device may beconfigured to operate as a universal remote that may be utilized toremotely control a plurality or other devices such as a TV, DVD, CD,Stereo, display monitor, or a combination thereof. Most access devicescurrently have an IR transmitter, which may be adapted to communicatewith other IR receiver devices.

The access device may be used for wireless communication and forremotely controlling an electronic device with as a TV, CD/DVDrecorder/player, or other device. The access device may also include atleast one soft-button that may be enabled through the gateway 118 andmay be utilized to control any other device that may be coupled to thegateway 118.

The gateway 118 is adapted to virtually aggregate data that may bevisible from a plurality of access devices or other network devices.Although the gateway 118 may be adapted to store some service andcontent related information, the gateway 118 does not actually storecopies of data that resides the access devices and/or other networkdevices that may be wired or wirelessly coupled to it. However, thegateway 118 may store, for example, metadata information that may beutilized to locate and access the information stored on the accessdevices and/or other network devices. The gateway is therefore adaptedto function as a registrar of both service and content relatedinformation.

Whenever an access device registers with and/or is authenticated by thegateway 118, information may be collected from the access device andrelated metadata information may be updated and/or synchronized withinformation that may be currently stored on the gateway 118.Additionally, when a device is no longer being serviced by the gateway118, associated information may be released from the gateway 118. Inthis regard, the virtual aggregations function performed by the gateway118 guarantees that the most current information is accessible from theaccess devices.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram illustrating an exemplary communicationsystem 100, in accordance with a representative embodiment of thepresent invention. The communication system 100 shown in FIG. 2comprises a wireless interface 120, a gateway (GW) 118 with a modem 116,and an array of access devices such as, for example, a printer 103, astereo receiver 105, a laptop 117, a wireless personal digital assistant(PDA) 119, and a digital video camera 121, at location 102. Thecommunication system 100 of FIG. 2 also comprises an access device 124that may correspond, for example, to the access devices 122, 124, 126 ofFIG. 1. A second location 104 within communication system 100 comprisesa router 130 with a modem 132, and a plurality of wireless accessdevices. The plurality of access devices at the second location 104 may,for example, comprise a personal computer (PC) 138, a laptop 136, and awireless personal digital assistant (PDA) 134. A peripheral such as, forexample, a digital camera 142 may be coupled to the personal computer138. Other peripherals such as, for example, printers, digital scanners,speakers, and the like, that are not shown in FIG. 2, may also becoupled to the personal computer 138 and/or laptop 136. The wirelessinterface 120 may comprise a plurality of interfaces such as, forexample, a Bluetooth interface, a cellular interface, and anycombination of an IEEE 802.11 a, b, g, and/or n interface, and/or anIEEE 802.15.3a ultra-wideband interface. Although the followingdiscussion refers frequently to the capabilities and actions of thegateway 118 and wireless interface 120, the same may be said of therouter 130 with modem 132 of FIGS. 1 and 2, for example, withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

In accordance with a representative embodiment of the present invention,a wireless access device such as access device 124 may be mobile, andmay move between the personal area network/wireless wide area networkcoverage provided by wireless interface 120 at location 102, the widearea network coverage provided by, for example, GSM network 114, and thecoverage provided by the router 130 and modem 132 at location 104. Thelocation 102 may, for example, be the home of the user of the accessdevice 124, the home of a friend or relative of the user of accessdevice 124, or an office, business, etc., where the user of accessdevice 124 may travel. The location 104 may, for example, be a secondhome of the user of access device 124, the home of a friend or relative,an office, or may have no personal or business relationship with theuser of access device 124. In a representative embodiment of the presentinvention, the gateway 118 may comprise, for example, a set top box thatmay be coupled in a wireless or wired fashion to access devices such as,for example, a laptop computer or television, such as the laptop 117 andthe television 115 of FIG. 2. Access to the communication bandwidth of abroadband network as previously described may be provided by the gateway118 and the modem 116 to wired or wireless access devices in thevicinity of location 102, and via router 130 and modem 132 to wired orwireless access devices in the vicinity of location 104, as shown inFIG. 2. This architecture may provide extended access to wirelessnetworks such as, for example, the GSM network 114, CDMA network 112,other cellular/PCS service provider 146, Internet 140 and publicswitched telephone network 108, of FIG. 1. The modem 116 is shownconnected to a broadband access provider (BAP) 106 via a broadbandconnection 107. The broadband connection 107 may comprise, for example,a digital subscriber line (DSL) connection, a cable network connection,a satellite connection, a T1 or T3 network connection, or similarbroadband communication link. The modem 116 is compatible with thebroadband connection 107, and may be, for example, a DSL modem, aDOCSIS-compliant cable modem, a satellite service modem, or T1 or T3compatible modem-type device. The broadband connection may provideaccess through BAP 106 to location 104, and via transport network 110to, for example, GSM network 114.

In the example illustration of FIG. 2, a user of the access device 124may or may not be engaged in communication with another system orsubscriber accessible via the GSM network 114, or other wide areanetwork of FIG. 1. Although the present example of FIG. 2 shows a GSMnetwork 114, a representative embodiment of the present invention may beemployed with respect to other wide area networks such as, for example,the CDMA network 112 and other cellular/PCS service provider 146, shownin FIG. 1.

When an access device such as, for example, the access device 124 ofFIG. 2 moves into the coverage area of a personal area network/wirelesslocal area network of, for example, the wireless interface 120 andgateway 118, or the router 130, the access device 124 may beauthenticated by the gateway 118 or router 130. The authentication mayinvolve the sharing or exchange of identification and/or authenticationinformation by the access device 124 with the gateway 118 or router 130.Details of an example of such an interaction are provided in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. ______, entitled “Method And System For ProvidingRegistration, Authentication, And Access Via A Broadband Access Gateway”(Attorney Docket No. 15724US02 BU3607.3), filed ______, the completesubject matter of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference, inits entirety. Once the access device 124 has been authenticated to thegateway 118, the access device 124 may be permitted to exchangemultimedia information and services available via the access devices incommunication with the gateway 118, or via networks connected to thegateway 118. Information about the available multimedia information andservices may be shared by and/or with the access device 124 viainformation exchanged by the access device 124 and the gateway 118 orrouter 130. Additional information about the advertising of suchinformation may be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/021,294,entitled “Method And System For Extended Network Access ServicesAdvertising Via A Broadband Access Gateway” (Attorney Docket No.15723US02 BU3607.2), filed Dec. 23, 2004, the complete subject matter ofwhich is hereby incorporated herein by reference, in its entirety. In arepresentative embodiment of the present invention, a broadband accessgateway such as, for example, the gateway 118 or the router 130 of FIG.2 may maintain a database of the information about the availablemultimedia information and services, described above. Details of anexample of such a database of information about access device data maybe found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ entitled“Registering Access Device Multimedia Content Via A Broadband AccessGateway” (Attorney Docket No. 15726US02 BU3607.5), filed ______, thecomplete subject matter of which is hereby incorporated herein byreference, in its entirety.

FIG. 3A shows a block diagram illustrating greater detail of anexemplary communication system 300 that may correspond, for example, toa portion of the communication system 100 of FIG. 2, that supportsdigital personal assistance functionality, in accordance with arepresentative embodiment of the present invention. The communicationsystem 300 of FIG. 3A comprises a gateway 118 communicatively coupled toa wireless interface 120, a modem 116, and a laptop 117. The wirelessinterface 120, the modem 116, and the laptop 117 may correspond, forexample, to the wireless interface 120, the modem 116, and the laptop117 of FIG. 2. The modem 116 provides the gateway 118 with access to abroadband connection 107 that may, for example, comprise a digitalsubscriber line (DSL) connection, a cable network connection, asatellite connection, a T1 or T3 network connection, or similarbroadband communication link. As shown in FIG. 3A, the wirelessinterface 120 is communicatively coupled to access device 124, that maycorrespond, for example, to the access device 124 of FIG. 2. Thewireless interface 120 is also shown in communication with the wirelessPDA 119. The wireless interface 120 may comprise any combination ofinterfaces such as, for example, a Bluetooth interface, an IEEE 802.11a,b, g and/or n interfaces, and/or an IEEE 802.15.3a ultra-widebandinterface.

As shown in the illustration of FIG. 3A, the gateway 118 may comprise aprocessor 151 that is communicatively coupled to the wireless interface120, the modem 116, and the laptop 117. In a representative embodimentaccording to the present invention, the processor 151 may be capable ofaccessing a database 152 that contains a collection of information aboutthe various multimedia information sources accessible to the gateway118. The information resident in the database 152 of gateway 118 may becollected, for example, either at start of communication of an accessdevice with the gateway 118, or periodically during the period while anaccess devices is in communication with the gateway 118. In addition tothe database 152, the processor 151 of FIG. 3A also has access to anumber of applications 153 such as, for example, a meeting plannerapplication 154, and other applications 155 that may represent, forexample, any software application supporting management of multiplemultimedia information sources resident on any of the access devicedescribed above.

In a representative embodiment of the present invention, a broadbandaccess gateway such as, for example, the gateway 118 of FIG. 2 or 3A, orthe router 130 of FIG. 2, may function as a personal digital assistantfor any of the access devices with which it is in communication. Thedigital personal assistance functionality of the gateway 118 representedby the meeting planner application 154 may access multimedia informationsources such as, for example, the calendar information 161 residing onthe laptop 117, the calendar information 160 residing on the wirelessPDA 119, and the calendar information 162 residing on the access device124. The meeting planner application 154 of FIG. 3A may, for example,access, manage, and modify the contents of the calendar information 161of the laptop 117, the calendar information 160 of the wireless PDA 119,and the calendar information 162 of the access device 124 in order tomake meeting arrangements at the request of the users of any of theaccess devices in communication with the gateway 118. Although theillustration of FIG. 3A shows a representation of multimedia informationcomprising calendar information, a representative embodiment of thepresent invention is not limited in this regard. Other forms ofmultimedia information may be accessed, managed, and modified by theapplications 153 on the gateway 118 including, for example, phonebookinformation, still and video image information, slide presentations,documents, and the like, from any access device in communication withthe gateway 118 such as, for example, access device 124 and laptop 117of FIG. 3A. In addition, a representative embodiment of the presentinvention may also be capable of accessing multimedia informationresident on access devices not directly in communication with thepersonal area network/wireless local area network supported by the wiredand wireless interfaces of the gateway 118 such as, for example, accessdevices accessible via the broadband connection 107.

FIG. 3B shows a block diagram illustrating of another exemplarycommunication system 300 that may correspond, for example, to thecommunication system 100 of FIG. 2, that supports digital personalassistance functionality for access devices outside of the coverage areaof the personal area network/wireless local area network supported bythe wireless interface 120 of the gateway 118, in accordance with arepresentative embodiment of the present invention. The communicationsystem 300 of FIG. 3B comprises a gateway 118 communicatively coupled toa wireless interface 120, a modem 116, and a laptop 117, at a firstlocation 102. The wireless interface 120, the modem 116, and the laptop117 may correspond, for example, to the wireless interface 120, themodem 116, and the laptop 117 of FIGS. 2 and 3A. The modem 116 mayprovide the gateway 118 with access to a broadband connection 107 thatmay, for example, comprise a digital subscriber line (DSL) connection, acable network connection, a satellite connection, a T1 or T3 networkconnection, or similar broadband communication link to a broadbandaccess provider (BAP) 106. As shown in FIG. 3B, the wireless interface120 is communicatively coupled to access device 124 that may correspond,for example, to the access device 124 of FIG. 2. The wireless interface120 is also shown in communication with the wireless PDA 119. Thewireless interface 120 may comprise any combination of interfaces suchas, for example, a Bluetooth interface, an IEEE 802.11 a, b, g and/or ninterface, and/or an IEEE 802.15.3a ultra-wideband interface. The accessdevice 124 may be capable of receiving service via either or both of thewireless interface 120 and the GSM network 114.

In addition to the gateway 118 at location 102, the communication system300 of FIG. 3B comprises a router 130 with modem 132 at a secondlocation 104. The modem 132 interfaces via a communication link 109 toBAP 106. The communication link 109 may comprise, for example, a digitalsubscriber line (DSL) connection, a cable network connection, asatellite connection, a T1 or T3 network connection, or similarbroadband communication link. As shown in FIG. 3B, the router 130 is incommunication via a wired connection to a laptop 136 and a personalcomputer (PC) 138 having digital camera 142. The router 130 is also incommunication with the wireless personal digital assistant (PDA) 134 viaa wireless link that may comprise any combination of wireless interfacessuch as, for example, a Bluetooth interface, an IEEE 802.11a, b, gand/or n interface, and/or an IEEE 802.15.3a ultra-wideband interface.The laptop 136, the PC 138, and the wireless PDA 134 have accessible tothem calendar information 163, 164, 165, respectively.

The communication system 300 of FIG. 3B also comprises a laptop 170,communicatively coupled to the gateway 118 at location 102 via theInternet 140 and the broadband access provider BAP 106. Calendarinformation 166 resides with and is accessible to the laptop 170. TheGSM network 114 is communicatively coupled to the BAP 106 (and,therefore, Internet 140 and gateway 118) via transport network 110.

As shown in the illustration of FIG. 3B, the gateway 118 may comprise aprocessor 151 that is communicatively coupled to the wireless interface120, the modem 116, and the laptop 117. In a representative embodimentaccording to the present invention, the processor 151 may be capable ofaccessing a database 152 that contains a collection of information aboutthe various multimedia information sources accessible to the gateway118. The information resident in the database 152 of gateway 118 may becollected, for example, either at start of communication of an accessdevice such as, for example, the access device 124, the wireless PDA119, and the laptop 117 with the gateway 118, or periodically during theperiod while an access devices is in communication with the gateway 118.In addition to the database 152, the processor 151 of FIG. 3B also hasaccess to a number of applications 153 such as, for example, a meetingplanner application 154, and other applications 155 that may represent,for example, any software application supporting management of multiplemultimedia information sources resident on any of the access devicedescribed above.

In a representative embodiment of the present invention, an accessdevice such as, for example, the laptop 170 that is not within thecoverage area of the wireless interface 120 of the gateway 118, and notin direct wired communication with the gateway 118, as is the case, forexample, with the laptop 117, may initiate or may be accessed as part ofthe actions of the applications 153 present on the gateway 118. Any ofthe access devices shown in the communication system 300 of FIG. 3B may,for example, initiate a meeting planning activity using the meetingplanner application 154 resident on the gateway 118. Such meetingplanning activities may, for example, involve the calendar informationof any of the access devices shown in FIG. 3B such as, for example, thecalendar information 161 of laptop 117, the calendar information 162 ofaccess device 124, and the calendar information 164 of PC 138.Information about the location of multimedia information relevant to themeeting planning activities of the meeting planner application 154 maybe stored within the database 152 of the gateway 118, having beenprovided by a user of an access device, discovered by searchingactivities of the gateway 118, or automatically provided by an accessdevice to the gateway 118 while in communication with the gateway 118.

FIG. 3C shows an illustration of an exemplary meeting planner screen 320that may be displayed on an access device such as, for example, theaccess device 124 of FIG. 3B upon activation of a meeting plannerapplication such as, for example, the meeting planner application 154 ofFIG. 3B, in accordance with a representative embodiment of the presentinvention. The display 300 may, for example, correspond to a display ofan access device in communication with a broadband access gatewaysupporting personal digital assistant functionality such as, forexample, the gateway 118 or the router 130 of FIG. 3B. As shown in FIG.3C, the display 300 comprises a network indicator 310, a networkservices indicator area 312, a battery life indicator, a time of dayindicator, and a day and date indicator. The display 300 also comprisesa display area 320 to allow an access device to present graphical ortextual information for a variety of reasons and from a number ofsources. The access device having the display 300 of FIG. 3C may, forexample, correspond to an access device of a user desiring to plan ameeting involving multiple participants in several locations. The userof the access device may have activated the meeting planner application154 by selecting an icon such as, for example, the meeting planner icon318 shown in FIG. 3C.

In the illustration of FIG. 3C, the display area 320 shows a meetingplanner screen 320 comprising a graphical interface with a earlieststart date selection tool 330, a latest end date selection tool 332, aparticipant selection tool 340, and a location selection tool 350. Theearliest start date selection tool 330 may be used to indicate theearliest date on which the meeting may start, and the latest end dateselection tool 332 the latest date on which the meeting may end. Theparticipant selection tool 340 may comprise a number of potentialparticipants, including the three participants 342, 344, 346 shown inFIG. 3C that have been selected for the meeting being scheduled. Thelist of potential participants of the participant selection tool 340 maybe derived from, for example, the database 152 of FIG. 3B, or may beentered by the user of the access device. The identification of theselected participants 342, 344, 346 permits the meeting plannerapplication 154 to access, for example, the calendar information of theselected participants 342, 344, 346 during the meeting planning process.The location selection tool 450 may comprise a number of potentialmeeting locations, including the selected location 352 shown in FIG. 3C.The list of potential meeting location of the location selection tool350 may be derived from, for example, the database 152 of FIG. 3B, ormay be entered by the user of the access device. The user may requestthat the meeting arrangements be made by selecting the arrange meetingbutton 354. A meeting planner application according to a representativeembodiment of the present invention may then search the meeting-relatedmultimedia information of the identified participants (e.g., calendarinformation, budget limitations, etc.) for common workable dates for thedesired meeting. The meeting planner application may also accessservices related to the scheduling of hotel rooms and transportation(e.g., rental cars, airline seats, transfers, etc.), that are accessiblevia a broadband access gateway such as, for example, the gateway 118 orthe router 130 of FIG. 3A, 3B, in order to arrange other services forthe identified participants within the identified earliest start dateand latest end date interval. Although the above example describes someof the function of a meeting planner application, the present inventionis not limited only to the planning of meetings, but may haveapplication in any application where access, modification, updating, andcoordination of multiple sources of multimedia information may bedesired.

FIG. 3D shows a block diagram illustrating of an exemplary communicationsystem 300 that may correspond, for example, to the communication system100 of FIG. 2, that supports access to functions and/or services by thedigital personal assistance functionality by access devices supported bythe gateway 118 or the router 130 of FIG. 2, in accordance with arepresentative embodiment of the present invention. The communicationsystem 300 of FIG. 3D comprises a gateway 118 communicatively coupled toa wireless interface 120, a modem 116, and a laptop 117, at a firstlocation 102. The wireless interface 120, the modem 116, and the laptop117 may correspond, for example, to the wireless interface 120, themodem 116, and the laptop 117 of FIG. 2. The modem 116 may provide thegateway 118 with access to a broadband connection 107 that may, forexample, comprise a digital subscriber line (DSL) connection, a cablenetwork connection, a satellite connection, a T1 or T3 networkconnection, or similar broadband communication link to a broadbandaccess provider (BAP) 106. As shown in FIG. 3D, the wireless interface120 is communicatively coupled to access device 124 that may correspond,for example, to the access device 124 of FIG. 2. The wireless interface120 is also shown in communication with the wireless PDA 119. Thewireless interface 120 may comprise any combination of interfaces suchas, for example, a Bluetooth interface, an IEEE 802.11a, b, g and/or ninterface, and/or an IEEE 802.15.3a ultra-wideband interface. The accessdevice 124 may be capable of receiving service via either or both of thewireless interface 120 and the GSM network 114.

In addition, the communication system 300 of FIG. 3D comprises a router130 with modem 132, at a second location 104. The modem 132 interfacesvia a communication link 109 to BAP 106. The communication link 109 maycomprise, for example, comprise a digital subscriber line (DSL)connection, a cable network connection, a satellite connection, a T1 orT3 network connection, or similar broadband communication link. As shownin FIG. 3D, the router 130 is in communication via a wired connection toa laptop 136 and a personal computer (PC) 138 having digital camera 142.The router 130 is in communication with the wireless personal digitalassistant (PDA) 134 via a wireless link that may comprise anycombination of wireless interfaces such as, for example, a Bluetoothinterface, an IEEE 802.11 a, b, g and/or n interface, and/or an IEEE802.15.3a ultra-wideband interface. The laptop 136, the PC 138, and thewireless PDA 134 have accessible to them calendar information 163, 164,165, respectively. The communication system 300 of FIG. 3D alsocomprises a laptop 170, communicatively coupled to the gateway 118 atlocation 102 via the Internet 140 and the BAP 106. Calendar information166 resides with and is accessible to the laptop 170. The GSM network114 is communicatively coupled to the BAP 106 (and, therefore, Internet140 and gateway 118) via transport network 110.

As shown in the illustration of FIG. 3D, the gateway 118 may comprise aprocessor 151 that is communicatively coupled to the wireless interface120, the modem 116, and the laptop 117. In a representative embodimentaccording to the present invention, the processor 151 may be capable ofaccessing a database 152 that contains a collection of information aboutthe various multimedia information sources accessible to the gateway118. The information resident in the database 152 of gateway 118 may becollected, for example, either at start of communication of an accessdevice with the gateway 118, or periodically during the period while anaccess devices is in communication with the gateway 118. In addition tothe database 152, the processor 151 of FIG. 3D also has access to anumber of applications 153 such as, for example, a meeting plannerapplication 154, and other applications 155 that may represent, forexample, any software application supporting management of multiplemultimedia information sources resident on any of the access devicedescribed above.

In addition to those elements described above, the communication system300 of FIG. 3D is shown as comprising a hotel reservation system 171, anairline reservation system 172, and a car rental reservation system 173that may be accessible to, for example, the access devices of thelocations 102, 104 via the Internet 140, the transport network 110, andthe BAP 106. Although the hotel reservation system 171, the airlinereservation system 172, and the car rental reservation system 173 areshown in FIG. 3D as communicatively coupled to the Internet 140, thisdoes not represent a limitation of the present invention. Services likethe hotel reservation system 171, the airline reservation system 172,and the car rental reservation system 173 (or other similar typeservices) may also be communicatively coupled to other entities withinthe communication system 300 such as, for example, the transport network110 and BAP 106, without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent invention.

In a representative embodiment of the present invention, services suchas, for example, the hotel reservation system 171, the airlinereservation system 172, and the car rental reservation system 173 ofFIG. 3D may be identified by a broadband access gateway such as, forexample, the gateway 118 or the router 130 of FIG. 3D during a searchfor accessible multimedia information and services. Such services mayalso be identified by a user of an access device such as, for example,the access device 124, the wireless PDA 119, or the PC 138 of FIG. 3D.Services such as, for example, the hotel reservation system 171, theairline reservation system 172, and the car rental reservation system173 may be accessed by digital personal assistance applications such as,for example, one or more of the applications 153 of FIG. 3D in order tofulfill the function of the applications 153. For example, a user of anaccess device such as, for example, the wireless PDA 119 at location 102or laptop 136 at location 104 may desire to arrange a meeting with auser of the laptop 170 at a particular location. The meeting plannerapplication 154 may determine a set of mutually agreeable dates by usingthe calendar information 160 of the user of wireless PDA 119, and thecalendar information 166 of the user of the laptop 170. The meetingplanner application 154 may also base meeting arrangements uponavailability information acquired from, for example, the airlinereservation system 172, the hotel reservation system 171, and the carreservation system 173. By automatically identifying dates on which, forexample, a hotel room, an airline flight, a car, and the otherparticipant(s) of a meeting are available, the meeting plannerapplication 154 may provide personal digital assistant functions to aidusers in scheduling business and personal meeting arrangements. Althoughan example of a meeting planning application has been described above, arepresentative embodiment of the present invention is not limited onlyto this particular type of application. Many other user activities maybe supported by an appropriate one of the other applications 155, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

In a representative embodiment of the present invention, an accessdevice such as, for example, the laptop 170 that is not within thecoverage area of the wireless interface 120 of the gateway 118, and notin direct wired communication with the gateway 118 as is the case, forexample, with the laptop 117, may initiate digital personal assistancefunctionality of the applications 153, for example, or may be accessedas part of the actions of the applications 153 present on the gateway118. Any of the access devices shown in the communication system 300 ofFIG. 3D may, for example, initiate a meeting planning activity using themeeting planner application 154 resident on the gateway 118. Suchmeeting planning activities may, for example, involve the calendarinformation of any of the access devices shown in FIG. 3D such as, forexample, the calendar information 161 of laptop 117, the calendarinformation 162 of access device 124, the calendar information 164 of PC138, and the calendar information 166 of laptop 170. Information aboutthe location of multimedia information relevant to the meeting planningactivities of the meeting planner application 154 may be stored withinthe database 152 of the gateway 118, having been provided by a user ofan access device, discovered by searching activities of the gateway 118,or automatically provided by an access device to the gateway 118 whilein communication with the gateway 118. These capabilities also permit arepresentative embodiment of the present invention to access and modifymultimedia information sources resident on access devices connected to,for example, the Internet 140, the other cellular/PCS service provider146, and the CDMA network 112 shown in FIG. 2. It should be noted thatalthough the descriptions regarding FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3D focus on examplesusing calendar information and the planning of meetings, representativeembodiments of the present invention are equally applicable to otheractivities where access, maintenance, modification, or updating of oneor more multimedia information sources residing at separate locationsmay be involved.

In a representative embodiment of the present invention, a user of anaccess device such as, for example, the access device 124 of FIG. 2, maywish to access a multimedia information source belonging to a coworkersuch as, for example, a calendar on the laptop 117 of FIG. 2, in orderto schedule a meeting of mutual interest. In one representativeembodiment of the present invention, the user may know the whereaboutsof the calendar information of the coworker, and may provide thatinformation to the gateway 118 using the access device 124. The user ofthe access device 124 may identify the multimedia information source tobe accessed using information such as, for example, a name, a useridentifier, a wired or wireless directory number, an electronic serialnumber, an internet protocol address, an administrative identifier, amedia access control (MAC) address, a combination of the above, oranother form of identifier. A calendar application resident on thegateway 118 may then access the calendar information of the coworker onthe laptop 117, and the user of access device may view and update thecalendar of the coworker. The laptop 117 and the gateway 118 may, forexample, restrict access to the calendar information on the laptop 117to users having appropriate authorization. Authorization may bedetermined by, for example, the gateway 118, using identity andauthentication information of the access device 124 and the laptop 117.

In another representative embodiment according to the present invention,the user of the access device 124 may not know the whereabouts of, forexample, the calendar information of the coworker, and may locate itusing a database of multimedia information that is accessible via thegateway 118 such as, for example, the database 152 of FIG. 3D. Such adatabase of multimedia information sources accessible to a broadbandaccess gateway such as gateway 118 is described briefly, above.Additional details of an exemplary database such as the database 152 areprovided in U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ entitled “LocationBased Directories Via A Broadband Access Gateway” (Attorney Docket No.15727US02 BU3607.6), filed ______, the complete subject matter of whichis hereby incorporated herein by reference, in its entirety.

In a representative embodiment of the present invention, the parametersused in a search of a database such as, for example, the database 152may be provided by the user of an access device such as, for example,the access device 124 of FIG. 3D. For example, the user of the accessdevice 124 may manually provide identifying information about thecoworker to a search function (not shown) of the gateway 118. Parametersused in a search may also be provided by an application having digitalpersonal assistance functionality such as, for example, the applications153 of FIG. 3D.

In a representative embodiment in accordance with the present invention,the user of an access device such as, for example, the access device124, wireless PDA 119, and laptop 117 of FIG. 3D may receive a call viaa wireless network such as, for example, the GSM network 114 or abroadband network such as, for example, the broadband connection 107.The incoming call may be received, for example, when the access deviceis not currently engaged in a call, or it may be received during apreviously established call. Information identifying the calling party,generally referred to as “caller ID” information, may be included in themessaging that notifies the access device 124 of the incoming call, orthe caller ID information may be sent in separate messaging from, forexample, the gateway 118, the router 130, or the GSM network 114. Thecall and the associated caller ID information may be received by anaccess device in communication with any of the networks of FIG. 1 suchas, for example, the Internet 140, the CDMA network 112, the PSTN 108,and the other cellular/PCS service provider 146, without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the present invention. In a representativeembodiment of the present invention, the call may originate from, forexample, the GSM network 114, or any of the networks that are accessiblevia the network serving the called party. This also includescommunication networks such as, for example, the PSTN 108, the CDMAnetwork 112, and the other cellular/PCS service provider 146 shown inFIG. 1.

In a representative embodiment of the present invention, the parametersused in the search of a database such as, for example, the database 152described above may, for example, be received by the gateway 118 inconnection with an incoming or outgoing call. For example, the user ofan access device such as, for example, the access device 124, the laptop117, and the wireless PDA 119 may receive/place a call from/to acoworker, with the intention of scheduling an event or meeting. Thegateway 118 serving the access device 124 may associate with theincoming or outgoing call, information that identifies the user of theaccess device 124 and the coworker originating or receiving the call.Such identifying information may be received by a broadband accessgateway such as, for example, the gateway 118, from an access devicesuch as, for example, the access device 124, in connection with theplacement or receipt of a phone call. At some point during the call, theuser of the access device 124 may, for example, wish to access thecalendar information for the called and calling parties using, forexample, a calendar application of the applications 153 of the gateway118. The calendar application of the applications 153 may locate andaccess the calendar information for each party to the call using theinformation identifying the called and calling parties (i.e., caller IDinformation) that is received by the gateway 118. The calendarapplication of the applications 153 of the gateway 118 may enable theuser of the access device 124 (or the other party to the call) tolocate, access, and modify the calendars of the called and callingparties. Access to and modification of multimedia information such as,for example, the calendar information described above, may be subject toany permissions or authentication that the owner of the multimediainformation may require.

Although the above example illustrates aspects of a representativeembodiment of the present invention that are related to the coordinationof calendar information, the present invention is not limited tosupporting user management of only calendar-type multimedia information.An embodiment of the present invention is equally applicable to themanipulation and management of other forms of multimedia informationsuch as, for example, phonebook information, financial records such aschecking, savings, and credit card account information, still and videoimage information, slide presentations, meeting and travel information,and other types of digital information to which coordination orco-management may apply. In addition, although the previous exampledescribes a call and the manipulation of multimedia information (i.e.,calendar information) for two parties, a different number ofparticipants may employ a representative embodiment of the presentinvention without departing from either the spirit or scope of thepresent invention.

In a representative embodiment of the present invention, a broadbandaccess gateway such as, for example, the gateway 118 or the router 130of FIG. 3D may comprise applications that access multiple source ofmultimedia information, in order to provide a more complete set ofinformation to a user of an access device. The sources of multimediainformation may be located on a number of different access deviceswithin the communication system 300 of FIG. 3D. For example, a meetingplanner application of a broadband access gateway such as, for example,the gateway 118 may be capable of accessing calendar information for anumber of meeting participants, determining a common meeting timeavailable on all participant calendars, and selecting acentrally-located meeting room using the business addresses of theparticipants. For example, the access devices of all of the meetingparticipants may be in communication with the gateway 118 via, forexample, wired or wireless interfaces such as those linking the accessdevice 124, the laptop 117, and the wireless PDA 119 to the gateway 118of FIG. 3D. The gateway 118 may therefore have access to schedule orcalendar information on the access devices of each of the participants.The personal digital assistant application on the gateway 118 may alsobe capable of employing applications resident outside of the gateway118, to perform some tasks in the planning process. This may include,for example, any of the multimedia information and services accessiblevia a broadband network such as, for example, the broadband connection107 of FIG. 3D. For example, in scheduling a room for a businessmeeting, or the hotel, car, and airline reservations of a travelitinerary, a representative embodiment of the present invention mayemploy active information sources or services outside of the gateway 118such as, for example, a hotel room locator, a car rental companyreservation system, and an airline reservation system that areaccessible from, for example, the Internet 140 of FIG. 3D. Multimediainformation on the access devices of meeting participants related tobusiness expenses may also be updated to reflect the cost of anyairline, hotel, car rental, and other accommodations that have beenarranged.

In a representative embodiment of the present invention, the personaldigital assistant functionality of the gateway 118 may be updatable via,for example, the wireless interface 120, a wired connection such as theconnection to the laptop 117, and a broadband network such as, forexample, the broadband connection 107. One or more of the applications153 of FIG. 3D such as, for example, the meeting planner 154 or theother applications 155 may be updated, or new applications 153 may beadded, to expand the digital personal assistance functionality of abroadband access gateway such as, for example, the gateway 118.

FIG. 3E shows a block diagram illustrating greater detail of anexemplary communication system 300 that may correspond, for example, toa portion of the communication system 100 of FIG. 2, that supportsdigital personal assistance functionality, in accordance with arepresentative embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3E,the communication system 300 comprises a gateway 118 communicativelycoupled to a wireless interface 120, a modem 116, and a laptop 117. Thewireless interface 120, the modem 116, and the laptop 117 maycorrespond, for example, to the wireless interface 120, the modem 116,and the laptop 117 of FIG. 2. The modem 116 provides the gateway 118with access to a broadband connection 107 that may, for example,comprise a digital subscriber line (DSL) connection, a cable networkconnection, a satellite connection, a T1 or T3 network connection, orsimilar broadband communication link. As shown in FIG. 3E, the wirelessinterface 120 is communicatively coupled to access device 124, that maycorrespond, for example, to the access device 124 of FIG. 2. Thewireless interface 120 is also shown in communication with the wirelessPDA 119. The wireless interface 120 may comprise any combination ofinterfaces such as, for example, a Bluetooth interface, an IEEE 802.11a, b, g and/or n interface, and/or an IEEE 802.15.3a ultra-widebandinterface.

As shown in the illustration of FIG. 3E, the gateway 118 may comprise aprocessor 151 that is communicatively coupled to the wireless interface120, the modem 116, and the laptop 117. In a representative embodimentaccording to the present invention, the processor 151 may be capable ofaccessing a database 152 that contains a collection of information aboutthe various multimedia information sources accessible to the gateway118. The information resident in the database 152 of gateway 118 may becollected, for example, either at start of communication of an accessdevice with the gateway 118, or periodically during the period while anaccess devices is in communication with the gateway 118. In addition tothe database 152, the processor 151 of FIG. 3E also has access to anumber of applications 153 that may correspond, for example, toapplications such as the meeting planner application 154, and otherapplications 155 of FIG. 3D. The applications 153 may represent, forexample, any software application supporting management of multiplemultimedia information sources resident on any of the access devicedescribed above.

In a representative embodiment according to the present invention, abroadband access gateway such as, for example, the gateway 118 of FIG.3E may track and coordinate accesses to multimedia information sourcesand services. For example, the gateway 118 may collect access statistics156 of FIG. 3E for items in the database 152 of multimedia informationsources, as described above. Based upon statistics such as, for example,number of accesses, accesses per unit time, duration of access or usage,and demographics of users accessing multimedia information and services,the gateway 118 may determine that a multimedia source or servicewarrants being identified as a “frequently accessed” multimediainformation source or service. Information that may be used to identifyand track the activity of users of access devices may comprise, forexample, electronic serial numbers, Internet protocol (IP) addresses,media access control (MAC) addresses, International Mobile StationIdentifier (IMSI) addresses, and Mobile Identification Number (MIN)addresses, to name only a few.

As previously described above, the information identifying an accessdevice or a user may be sent by an access device such as, for example,the access device 124 to a broadband access gateway such as, forexample, the gateway 118 at the beginning of and/or during communicationof the access device 124 with the gateway 118. Information identifyingan access device may comprise, for example, electronic serial numbers,Internet protocol (IP) addresses, media access control (MAC) addresses,International Mobile Station Identifier (IMSI) addresses, and MobileIdentification Number (MIN) addresses, while information identifying theuser may comprise wired or wireless directory number, electronic serialnumber, internet protocol address, administrative identifier, mediaaccess control (MAC) address, and a digital certificate. Depending uponthe identifying information, the user of an access device may be allowedto access and modify multimedia information or service. Permission tomodify the multimedia information of another may be granted based uponthe information identifying the one desiring access.

As described above, statistics and information identifying users oraccess devices related to accesses to particular sources of multimediainformation and services may be collected and stored as in, for example,the access statistics 156 of FIG. 3E. Information such as, for example,the access statistics 156 may be used to determined a list of users thathave a common interest. For example, those users accessing informationabout a particular sports team, calendar information for a particularindividual, news on a particular subject, updates on a particulartelevision program, plays for a particular video game, and informationon English antiques may be identified as belonging to a group of usershaving a particular common interest. One or more thresholds may be usedto differentiate between those users and/or access devices accessingmultimedia information source or services infrequently or casually, andthose making repeated and lengthy use of a multimedia information sourceor service. Those users and/or access devices with the greatest levelsof access may be considered to have a higher probability of having acommon interest in the multimedia information or service. Collectedstatistical information such as, for example, the access statistics 156may be used to determine those users or access devices most probable toengage in future access.

In a representative embodiment of the present invention, users that havebeen found to have a high probability of having an interest in aparticular multimedia information source or service may be automaticallyoffered the opportunity to confirm or acknowledge that interest. If theyso choose, they may allow their personal interest to be made public toothers that have already confirmed or acknowledged an interest in theparticular multimedia information source or service. Those electing toacknowledge an interest in the particular multimedia information sourceor service and to be associated with others that have acknowledged aninterest in the particular multimedia information source or service maybe added to a member list of those users that comprise a “socialnetwork”. A broadband access gateway such as, for example, the gateway118 of FIG. 3E may enable users of access devices such as, for example,the access device 124 and the laptop 117, to select those socialnetworks in which they would like to participate, based on the subjectmatter or nature of the multimedia information of common interest.Participation may include notification of events related to the commoninterest, inclusion in group communication, automatic receipt of updatesto multimedia information of interest, and related advertising, to namejust a few examples. Users not yet identified as having a particularsubject of interest may request to have their identity added to a memberlist of a social network for a particular area of common interest.

In one representative embodiment of the present invention, a user of anaccess device may disable the sharing of user-identifiable information,to avoid having their accesses to multimedia information sources trackedby a broadband access gateway such as, for example, the gateway 118 orthe router 130 of FIG. 2. This may permit the user of an access deviceto maintain privacy over their access to multimedia information. Inanother representative embodiment according to the present invention,multimedia information sources may be accessed anonymously using adigital certificate that conveys authentication of the user whileconcealing the identity of the user.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary method of providing digitalpersonal assistance functionality via a broadband access gateway suchas, for example, the gateway 124 and the router 130 of FIGS. 2, 3A, 3B,3D, in accordance with a representative embodiment of the presentinvention. The method of FIG. 4 is arranged as a left and a right path,representing that actions in those paths may be performed in parallel.The following discussion of FIG. 4 makes reference to elements of FIG.2, as described above. The method of FIG. 4 begins at block 410, when abroadband access gateway such as, for example, the gateway 118 or therouter of FIG. 2 is powered up. In the left path of FIG. 4, thebroadband access gateway may assemble a database describing multimediainformation that is available from access devices accessible to thegateway 118 (block 412). Such access devices may include, for example,the access device 124, the laptop 117, the wireless PDA 119, and thelaptop 170 of FIGS. 3B and 3D. Although the action of block 412 of theflowchart of FIG. 4 are shown as occurring one time, this is not alimitation of the present invention, but rather a simplification madefor reasons of clarity. The assembly of the database (block 412) may bean ongoing activity as access devices enter and leave communication withthe broadband access gateway. The method of the left path of FIG. 4 thenends (block 412).

In the right path of the flowchart of FIG. 4, the method first receivesidentification information from the access device of a user (block 414).This may occur when the access device enters into communication with thebroadband access gateway, or may occur periodically while the accessdevice is served by the broadband access gateway. The broadband accessgateway may then receive a request identifying a service desired by theuser of the access device (block 416). This service may comprise, forexample, the meeting planner service described above with respect toFIGS. 3B and 3D. The broadband access gateway may also receiveinformation identifying the parties (i.e., the users of access devices)to the request (block 418). In the case of the meeting plannerapplication described above, the parties may, for example, be theparticipants at the meeting being planned. Next, the broadband accessgateway may locate multimedia information belonging to the identifiedparties, that is related to the requested service (e.g., calendarinformation for the meeting planner application) (block 420). Locationof such information may employ a database of multimedia informationaccessible to the broadband access gateway such as, for example thedatabase 152 of FIG. 3D, or may employ information provided by the userrequesting the service. In the method of FIG. 4, the requested serviceis then performed employing the service-related multimedia informationof the identified parties (block 422), such as, for example, thescheduling of a meeting. The user making the service request may then benotified of the results of the performance of the service (block 424).The method of the right path of FIG. 4 then ends (block 426).

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an exemplary method of tracking and identifyingusers of frequently accessed multimedia information or services, inaccordance with a representative embodiment of the present invention.The method of FIG. 5 is arranged as a left and a right path,representing that actions in those paths may be performed in parallel.The following discussion of FIG. 5 makes reference to elements of FIGS.2, 3B, and 3D, as described above. The method of FIG. 5 begins at block510, when a broadband access gateway such as, for example, the gateway118 or the router of FIG. 2 is powered up. In the left path of FIG. 5,the broadband access gateway assembles a database describing multimediainformation that is available from access devices accessible to abroadband access gateway (block 412). Such access devices may include,for example, the access device 124, the laptop 117, the wireless PDA119, and the laptop 170 of FIGS. 3B and 3D. Although the action of block512 of the flowchart of FIG. 4 are shown as occurring one time, this isnot a limitation of the present invention, but rather a simplificationmade for reasons of clarity. The assembly of the database (block 512)may be an ongoing activity as access devices enter and leavecommunication with the broadband access gateway. The broadband accessgateway may as part of the left path identify users having an interestin multimedia information and/or services using statistics that areacquired during activities of the right path of FIG. 5 (to be described,below) (block 514). The identification may employ one or more thresholdsto determine and identify the relative interest in various sources ofmultimedia information and services that may be tracked. The broadbandaccess gateway may then provide additional opportunities and services(e.g., provide access to additional services, notify the user of othersources similar to those already accessed, publish the names/identitiesof users with similar interests) to the identified users (block 516)based on the access statistics. The method of the left path of FIG. 5then ends (block 412).

In the right path of the flowchart of FIG. 5, the method begins byreceiving identification information from the access device of a user(block 518). This may occur when the access device enters intocommunication with the broadband access gateway, or may occurperiodically while the access device is served by the broadband accessgateway. The broadband access gateway may then receive a requestidentifying a service to be performed for the user of an access device(block 520). This service may comprise, for example, any of thebroadband access gateway services described above, including multimediaaccess, exchange, playback, recording, cataloging, management,coordination, merging, storage, processing, and may include the meetingplanner service described with respect to FIGS. 3B and 3D. The broadbandaccess gateway may also receive information identifying or related tothe multimedia information being accessed (i.e., thesources/owners/subject matter and other related metadata for accessedmultimedia information) (block 522). Next, the broadband access gatewaymay track the access to multimedia information and/or services,maintaining a database or collection of access statistics for thevarious sources of multimedia information and services accessible viathe broadband access gateway (block 524). The statisticstracked/collected by the actions of the right path of FIG. 5 may be usedby the actions of the left path of the method of FIG. 5 (blocks 514 and516) to provide additional opportunities and services to those usersmaking frequent or repeated access to or use of multimedia informationsources and services. As described briefly above, this may include theidentification of “social networks” of users having common interests,the notification of those users of others having particular interests,providing opportunities for those users to interact, to contribute to anexchange on the subject of common interest, and to be made aware of andengage in new activities related to their interest. The method of theright path of FIG. 5 then ends (block 526).

Aspects of the present invention may be found in a system supportingdigital personal assistance functionality for a plurality of accessdevices. Such a system may comprise a gateway communicatively coupled toa broadband network and at least one wireless interface. The gateway maybe capable of selectively exchanging multimedia information among the atleast one wireless interface and the broadband network, and ofcommunicating with the plurality of access devices via the at least onewireless interface. In addition, the gateway may be capable ofcollecting, from at least a portion of the plurality of access devices,information describing available multimedia information. In arepresentative embodiment of the present invention, the gateway may becapable of receiving a request from one of the plurality of accessdevices. The request may identify at least one of: a service to beperformed and at least two sources of multimedia information to be usedin the performance of the service. The at least two sources ofmultimedia information may reside on different ones of the plurality ofaccess devices, and the gateway may be capable of initiating therequested service using the identified at least two sources ofmultimedia information.

In various representative embodiments of the present invention,multimedia information may comprise at least one of: streaming video,broadcast video, voice, digital data, text, digitized audio, digitizedstill images, digitized video, and digitized music. The at least onewireless interface may be compliant with the Bluetooth V1.2 orcompatible personal area network (PAN) specification, may communicateusing an unlicensed frequency band, and may communicate at a frequencyof approximately 2.4 gigahertz. In addition, the at least one wirelessinterface may be compliant with at least one of: the Institute ofElectrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g,and 802.11 n standards. In a representative embodiment according to thepresent invention, the broadband network may comprise at least one of: adigital subscriber line (DSL) network, a cable network, a satellitenetwork, a cellular network, and the Internet. The cellular network maycomprise at least one of: a global system for mobile communications(GSM) network, a time division multiple access (TDMA) network, a codedivision multiple access (CDMA) network, and a universal mobiletelecommunications system (UMTS) network.

In a representative embodiment in accordance with the present invention,the gateway may be capable of receiving from at least one of theplurality of access devices, at least one of: information identifying anaccess device and information identifying a user. The informationidentifying an access device may comprise at least one of: an electronicserial number, an Internet protocol (IP) address, a media access control(MAC) address, a directory number, an International Mobile StationIdentifier (IMSI) address, a Mobile Identification Number (MIN) address,information identifying a make of an access device, and informationidentifying a model of an access device. The information identifying auser may comprise at least one of: a member identifier, a user name, anadministrative identifier, and a credit card number. In variousrepresentative embodiments of the present invention, the plurality ofaccess devices may comprise at least one of: a mobile multimediahandset, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a personal computer (PC), adigital scanner, a digital camera, a printer, headphones, and a pointingdevice. At least a portion of the service may be performed by an entityaccessible via the broadband network, and the service may comprise atleast one of: scheduling a meeting, arranging for transportation, andplacing a hotel reservation.

Additional aspects of the present invention may be seen in a method forsupporting digital personal assistance functionality for a plurality ofaccess devices via a broadband access gateway. A method in accordancewith the present invention may comprise collecting, from at least aportion of the plurality of access devices, information describingavailable multimedia information. The method may also receive a requestfrom one of the plurality of access devices, and the request mayidentify at least one of: a service to be performed and at least twosources of multimedia information to be used in the performance of theservice. The at least two sources of multimedia information may resideon different ones of the plurality of access devices. The method mayalso comprise initiating the requested service using the identified atleast two sources of multimedia information. Multimedia information in arepresentative embodiment according to the present invention maycomprise at least one of: streaming video, broadcast video, voice,digital data, text, digitized audio, digitized still images, digitizedvideo, and digitized music. In addition, the method may compriseexchanging multimedia information among at least one wireless interfaceand a broadband network. The at least one wireless interface may becompliant with the Bluetooth V1.2 or compatible personal area network(PAN) specification, may communicate using an unlicensed frequency band,and may communicate at a frequency of approximately 2.4 gigahertz. In arepresentative embodiment of the present invention, the at least onewireless interface may be compliant with at least one of: the Instituteof Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11a, 802.11b,802.11g, and 802.11n standards.

In various representative embodiments of the present invention, thebroadband network may comprise at least one of: a digital subscriberline (DSL) network, a cable network, a satellite network, a cellularnetwork, and the Internet. The cellular network may comprise at leastone of: a global system for mobile communications (GSM) network, a timedivision multiple access (TDMA) network, a code division multiple access(CDMA) network, and a universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS)network. A representative embodiment according to the present inventionmay also comprise receiving from at least one of the plurality of accessdevices, at least one of: information identifying an access device andinformation identifying a user. The information identifying an accessdevice may comprise at least one of: an electronic serial number, anInternet protocol (IP) address, a media access control (MAC) address, adirectory number, an International Mobile Station Identifier (IMSI)address, a Mobile Identification Number (MIN) address, informationidentifying a make of an access device, and information identifying amodel of an access device. The information identifying a user maycomprise at least one of: a member identifier, a user name, anadministrative identifier, and a credit card number. In variousrepresentative embodiments of the present invention, the plurality ofaccess devices may comprise at least one of: a mobile multimediahandset, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a personal computer (PC), adigital scanner, a digital camera, a printer, headphones, and a pointingdevice. At least a portion of the service may be performed by an entityaccessible via a broadband network, and the service may comprise atleast one of: scheduling a meeting, arranging for transportation, andplacing a hotel reservation.

Yet other aspects of the present invention may be observed in amachine-readable storage, having stored thereon a computer programhaving a plurality of code sections executable by a machine, for causingthe machine to perform the operations of the method described above.

Further aspects of the present invention may be observed in a systemsupporting the identification of social networks of users of a pluralityof access devices. Such a system may comprise a gateway communicativelycoupled to a broadband network and at least one wireless interface. Thegateway may be capable of selectively exchanging multimedia informationamong the at least one wireless interface and the broadband network, andof communicating with the plurality of access devices via the at leastone wireless interface. The gateway may also be capable of receivingfrom at least one of the plurality of access devices, informationidentifying at least one of an access device and a user. In arepresentative embodiment of the present invention, the gateway may becapable of collecting access statistics based upon the identified atleast one of: an access device and a user, and associated accessedmultimedia information, and of associating at least a first user and asecond user based upon the access statistics and at least one threshold.Multimedia information, in a representative embodiment of the presentinvention, may comprise at least one of: streaming video, broadcastvideo, voice, digital data, text, digitized audio, digitized stillimages, digitized video, and digitized music, and the at least onewireless interface may communicate at a frequency of approximately 2.4gigahertz.

In various representative embodiments of the present invention, thebroadband network may comprise at least one of: a digital subscriberline (DSL) network, a cable network, a satellite network, a cellularnetwork, and the Internet. The information identifying an access devicemay comprise at least one of: an electronic serial number, an Internetprotocol (IP) address, a media access control (MAC) address, a directorynumber, an International Mobile Station Identifier (IMSI) address, aMobile Identification Number (MIN) address, information identifying amake of an access device, and information identifying a model of anaccess device. The information identifying a user may comprise at leastone of: a member identifier, a user name, an administrative identifier,and a credit card number. The plurality of access devices may compriseat least one of: a mobile multimedia handset, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), a personal computer (PC), a digital scanner, a digitalcamera, a printer, headphones, and a pointing device, and the associatedusers may be provided at least one of: services and information,different from a non-associated user.

In a representative embodiment of the present invention, the wirelesslocal area networks may include data networks such as, for example,Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer (IEEE) 802.11a/b/g/ncompliant wireless networks such as those located in homes, hot spots oran office. Such local area networks may operate in unlicensed radiofrequency spectrum such as in, for example, the 2.4 and 5 gigahertzregions. Examples of wide area networks may include cellular digitalpacket data (CDPD), voice and data networks such as public switchedtelephone networks (PSTN), Global System For Mobile Communication (GSM),GSM General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), GSM Short Message Service(SMS), GSM Enhanced Data Rates For Global Evolution (EDGE), NorthAmerican Time Division Multiplex Access (TDMA), iDEN, Code DivisionMultiple Access (CDMA) and CDMA2000 1×RT, Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS) network, to name only a few.

A personal area network (PAN) may be formed by a plurality of wirelesscommunication access devices such as, for example, mobile multimediahandsets, PDAs, telephones, and computers. Other elements of such anetwork may, for example, include computer peripherals such as digitalscanners, digital cameras, printers, headphones, and pointing devices,that may be located within the immediate proximity of a person. A PANmay be an ad-hoc network of such communication devices. In arepresentative embodiment of the present invention, access deviceswithin the PAN may communicate with other access devices within the PANand also with other access devices that are located in other networksaccessible via the PAN. The personal area networks may include datanetworks such as, for example, a Bluetooth compliant network, andInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer (IEEE) 802.15.3acompliant wireless networks. Such personal area networks may operate inunlicensed radio frequency spectrum such as, for example, the 2.4 and 5gigahertz regions. Details of one example of a personal area network areprovided in the document “Bluetooth Core Specification V1.2”, Nov. 5,2003, from Bluetooth SIG, Inc., the complete subject matter of which ishereby incorporated herein by reference, in its entirety. For example,in a Bluetooth® wireless PAN, a first Bluetooth®-enabled wireless accessdevice may communicate with a second Bluetooth®-enabled wireless accessdevice within the PAN. Additionally, either of the first and secondBluetooth®-enabled wireless access devices may communicate with theInternet or another LAN or WAN via the Bluetooth® wireless PAN.

In a representative embodiment of the present invention, a gateway maybe adapted to provide seamless and transparent communication between aplurality of access devices and a plurality of networks. Thefunctionality of the gateway may be divided, for example, intoapplication content functionality, and configuration and managementfunctionality. The application content functionality may, for example,deal with the types of applications that may be supported by the gatewayas well as the various types of data that may be received, processedand/or transmitted by the gateway. In this regard, application contentfunctionality may also include the manner in which other devices and/orsystems may utilize data from the gateway.

Content and application services are important because all theinformation coming into and leaving the home from either the WAN side(i.e., the broadband connection side), or from the PAN side (i.e., theaccess device side) converges at the gateway. The PAN side may compriseBluetooth, wireless LAN (IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n), IEEE 802.15.3aultra-wideband, or cellular, for example. Notwithstanding, the gatewaymay be adapted to convert, for example, wirelessly receivedGSM-formatted information into, for example, Internet protocol(IP)-formatted information and in reverse, converts IP-formattedinformation into wireless GSM-formatted information suitable forover-the-air transmission. Support for other wireless communicationprotocols such as TDMA, CDMA, and UMTS may also be provided. In arepresentative embodiment of the present invention, the gateway maycomprise suitable circuitry, logic and/or code that may be adapted toreceive and process MPEG related data, which may be suitable for displayon a screen. The gateway in an embodiment of the present inventionfunctions as a focal point where data converges from a plurality ofwired and wireless services. Although, in a particular embodiment of thepresent invention the gateway may do very little in terms of actualcontent aggregation, there is virtual aggregation of data. The convergeddata may be integrated and or otherwise utilized to offer uniqueopportunities for launching various content and application servicesfrom a single strategic location. Since the gateway in an embodiment ofthe present invention is the focal point where data converges, one ormore protocol stacks may be employed for launching the various contentand application services.

The gateway in a representative embodiment of the present invention maybe adapted to route calls based on established rules that may beprogrammed into the gateway. For example, the gateway may be governed bya rule which states that local calls are to be routed to an incumbentlocal exchange carrier (iLEC), while long distance calls are to behandled by Long Distance Carrier Company. Accordingly, when a calloriginates at the gateway and it is determined that the call is a localcall, the gateway may be adapted to route the call to the iLEC. However,if the gateway determines that the call is a long distance call, thenthe gateway may be adapted to route the call to Long Distance CarrierCompany.

A representative embodiment of the present invention may leverageexisting broadband infrastructure that is commonly found in many homesand businesses today. Because a consumer is already paying for the useof the broadband infrastructure in their home or office, leveraging theuse of the existing broadband infrastructure for communication with widearea networks results in minimal or no communication costs. Thebroadband infrastructure may be, for example, a cable or DSLinfrastructure.

The wireless interface function provided by the gateway located within ahome, for example, may be utilized to route or communicate a great dealof traffic to a wired network such as a broadband network or a wirelessnetwork such as a GSM or CDMA network via a broadband connection. Inother words, the wireless gateway infrastructure provided by arepresentative embodiment of the present invention provides a scalablenetwork infrastructure that rides on an existing access infrastructurealready supplied by a broadband service provider to a home, office orbusiness. Additionally, the scalable infrastructure provided by thegateway also solves the problems associated with signal penetration andpropagation, thereby providing improved quality of service (QoS). From amarket perspective, a wireless service provider may now have access tothe necessary infrastructure to provide improved wireless services tousers within a home or office. Accordingly, in order to rapidly increasetheir growth, wireless service providers may now target that portion ofthe in-home landline or plain old telephone system (POTS) business,which have traditionally been handled by incumbent local exchangecarriers (ILECS) or other LECs.

The unlicensed mobile access gateway described above may possess asignificant amount of processing power. The gateways of existing systemsfall short of realizing the full potential of the merged wired andwireless communication network that is enabled by a representativeembodiment of the present invention. Numerous basic and enhancedcommunication services may be enabled or provided by the gateway.Support for access devices such as, for example, mobile multimediahandsets and PDAs may be involved in order to utilize these basic andenhanced communication services enabled by the new wave of digitaltechnologies. Current and/or proposed mobile access gateway systems,however, do not provide the range of support needed for their use by theeveryday consumer.

Accordingly, the present invention may be realized in hardware,software, or a combination of hardware and software. The presentinvention may be realized in a centralized fashion in at least onecomputer system, or in a distributed fashion where different elementsare spread across several interconnected computer systems. Any kind ofcomputer system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methodsdescribed herein is suited. A typical combination of hardware andsoftware may be a general-purpose computer system with a computerprogram that, when being loaded and executed, controls the computersystem such that it carries out the methods described herein.

The present invention may also be embedded in a computer programproduct, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation ofthe methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer systemis able to carry out these methods. Computer program in the presentcontext means any expression, in any language, code or notation, of aset of instructions intended to cause a system having an informationprocessing capability to perform a particular function either directlyor after either or both of the following: a) conversion to anotherlanguage, code or notation; b) reproduction in a different materialform.

While the present invention has been described with reference to certainembodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention. In addition, manymodifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material tothe teachings of the present invention without departing from its scope.Therefore, it is intended that the present invention not be limited tothe particular embodiment disclosed, but that the present invention willinclude all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

1. A system supporting digital personal assistance functionality for a plurality of access devices, the system comprising: a gateway communicatively coupled to a broadband network and at least one wireless interface, the gateway capable of selectively exchanging multimedia information among the at least one wireless interface and the broadband network, and of communicating with the plurality of access devices via the at least one wireless interface; the gateway capable of collecting, from at least a portion of the plurality of access devices, information describing available multimedia information; the gateway capable of receiving a request from one of the plurality of access devices, the request identifying at least one of: a service to be performed and at least two sources of multimedia information to be used in the performance of the service, the at least two sources of multimedia information residing on different ones of the plurality of access devices; and the gateway capable of initiating the requested service using the identified at least two sources of multimedia information.
 2. The system according to claim 1 wherein multimedia information comprises at least one of: streaming video, broadcast video, voice, digital data, text, digitized audio, digitized still images, digitized video, and digitized music.
 3. The system according to claim 1 wherein the at least one wireless interface is compliant with the Bluetooth V1.2 or compatible personal area network (PAN) specification.
 4. The system according to claim 1 wherein the at least one wireless interface communicates using an unlicensed frequency band.
 5. The system according to claim 1 wherein the at least one wireless interface communicates at a frequency of approximately 2.4 gigahertz.
 6. The system according to claim 1 wherein the at least one wireless interface is compliant with at least one of: the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n standards.
 7. The system according to claim 1 wherein the broadband network comprises at least one of: a digital subscriber line (DSL) network, a cable network, a satellite network, a cellular network, and the Internet.
 8. The system according to claim 7 wherein the cellular network comprises at least one of: a global system for mobile communications (GSM) network, a time division multiple access (TDMA) network, a code division multiple access (CDMA) network, and a universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) network.
 9. The system according to claim 1, further comprising: the gateway capable of receiving from at least one of the plurality of access devices, at least one of: information identifying an access device and information identifying a user.
 10. The system according to claim 9 wherein the information identifying an access device comprises at least one of: an electronic serial number, an Internet protocol (IP) address, a media access control (MAC) address, a directory number, an International Mobile Station Identifier (IMSI) address, a Mobile Identification Number (MIN) address, information identifying a make of an access device, and information identifying a model of an access device.
 11. The system according to claim 9 wherein the information identifying a user comprises at least one of: a member identifier, a user name, an administrative identifier, and a credit card number.
 12. The system according to claim 1 wherein the plurality of access devices comprises at least one of: a mobile multimedia handset, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a personal computer (PC), a digital scanner, a digital camera, a printer, headphones, and a pointing device.
 13. The system according to claim 1 wherein at least a portion of the service is performed by an entity accessible via the broadband network.
 14. The system according to claim 1 wherein the service comprises at least one of: scheduling a meeting, arranging for transportation, and placing a hotel reservation.
 15. A method for supporting digital personal assistance functionality for a plurality of access devices via a broadband access gateway, the method comprising: collecting, from at least a portion of the plurality of access devices, information describing available multimedia information; receiving a request from one of the plurality of access devices, the request identifying at least one of: a service to be performed and at least two sources of multimedia information to be used in the performance of the service, the at least two sources of multimedia information residing on different ones of the plurality of access devices; and initiating the requested service using the identified at least two sources of multimedia information.
 16. The method according to claim 15 wherein multimedia information comprises at least one of: streaming video, broadcast video, voice, digital data, text, digitized audio, digitized still images, digitized video, and digitized music.
 17. The method according to claim 15 further comprising: exchanging multimedia information among at least one wireless interface and a broadband network.
 18. The method according to claim 17 wherein the at least one wireless interface is compliant with the Bluetooth V1.2 or compatible personal area network (PAN) specification.
 19. The method according to claim 17 wherein the at least one wireless interface communicates using an unlicensed frequency band.
 20. The method according to claim 17 wherein the at least one wireless interface communicates at a frequency of approximately 2.4 gigahertz.
 21. The method according to claim 17 wherein the at least one wireless interface is compliant with at least one of: the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n standards.
 22. The method according to claim 17 wherein the broadband network comprises at least one of: a digital subscriber line (DSL) network, a cable network, a satellite network, a cellular network, and the Internet.
 23. The method according to claim 22 wherein the cellular network comprises at least one of: a global system for mobile communications (GSM) network, a time division multiple access (TDMA) network, a code division multiple access (CDMA) network, and a universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) network.
 24. The method according to claim 15, further comprising: receiving from at least one of the plurality of access devices, at least one of: information identifying an access device and information identifying a user.
 25. The method according to claim 24 wherein the information identifying an access device comprises at least one of: an electronic serial number, an Internet protocol (IP) address, a media access control (MAC) address, a directory number, an International Mobile Station Identifier (IMSI) address, a Mobile Identification Number (MIN) address, information identifying a make of an access device, and information identifying a model of an access device.
 26. The method according to claim 24 wherein the information identifying a user comprises at least one of: a member identifier, a user name, an administrative identifier, and a credit card number.
 27. The method according to claim 15 wherein the plurality of access devices comprises at least one of: a mobile multimedia handset, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a personal computer (PC), a digital scanner, a digital camera, a printer, headphones, and a pointing device.
 28. The method according to claim 15 wherein at least a portion of the service is performed by an entity accessible via a broadband network.
 29. The method according to claim 15 wherein the service comprises at least one of: scheduling a meeting, arranging for transportation, and placing a hotel reservation.
 30. A machine-readable storage, having stored thereon a computer program having a plurality of code sections for operating a gateway supporting digital personal assistance functionality for a plurality of access devices, the code sections executable by a machine for causing the machine to perform the operations comprising: collecting, from at least a portion of the plurality of access devices, information describing available multimedia information; receiving a request from one of the plurality of access devices, the request identifying at least one of: a service to be performed and at least two sources of multimedia information to be used in the performance of the service, the at least two sources of multimedia information residing on different ones of the plurality of access devices; and initiating the requested service using the identified at least two sources of multimedia information.
 31. The machine-readable storage according to claim 30 wherein multimedia information comprises at least one of: streaming video, broadcast video, voice, digital data, text, digitized audio, digitized still images, digitized video, and digitized music.
 32. The machine-readable storage according to claim 30 wherein the code sections executable by a machine further causing the machine to perform the operations comprising: exchanging multimedia information among at least one wireless interface and a broadband network.
 33. The machine-readable storage according to claim 32 wherein the at least one wireless interface is compliant with the Bluetooth V1.2 or compatible personal area network (PAN) specification.
 34. The machine-readable storage according to claim 32 wherein the at least one wireless interface communicates using an unlicensed frequency band.
 35. The machine-readable storage according to claim 32 wherein the at least one wireless interface communicates at a frequency of approximately 2.4 gigahertz.
 36. The machine-readable storage according to claim 32 wherein the at least one wireless interface is compliant with at least one of: the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n standards.
 37. The machine-readable storage according to claim 32 wherein the broadband network comprises at least one of: a digital subscriber line (DSL) network, a cable network, a satellite network, a cellular network, and the Internet.
 38. The machine-readable storage according to claim 37 wherein the cellular network comprises at least one of: a global system for mobile communications (GSM) network, a time division multiple access (TDMA) network, a code division multiple access (CDMA) network, and a universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) network.
 39. The machine-readable storage according to claim 30 wherein the code sections executable by a machine further causing the machine to perform the operations comprising: receiving from at least one of the plurality of access devices, at least one of: information identifying an access device and information identifying a user.
 40. The machine-readable storage according to claim 39 wherein the information identifying an access device comprises at least one of: an electronic serial number, an Internet protocol (IP) address, a media access control (MAC) address, a directory number, an International Mobile Station Identifier (IMSI) address, a Mobile Identification Number (MIN) address, information identifying a make of an access device, and information identifying a model of an access device.
 41. The machine-readable storage according to claim 39 wherein the information identifying a user comprises at least one of: a member identifier, a user name, an administrative identifier, and a credit card number.
 42. The machine-readable storage according to claim 30 wherein the plurality of access devices comprises at least one of: a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a personal computer (PC), a digital scanner, a digital camera, a printer, headphones, and a pointing device.
 43. The machine-readable storage according to claim 30 wherein at least a portion of the service is performed by an entity accessible via a broadband network.
 44. The machine-readable storage according to claim 30 wherein the service comprises at least one of: scheduling a meeting, arranging for transportation, and placing a hotel reservation.
 45. A system supporting the identification of social networks of users of a plurality of access devices, the system comprising: a gateway communicatively coupled to a broadband network and at least one wireless interface, the gateway capable of selectively exchanging multimedia information among the at least one wireless interface and the broadband network, and of communicating with the plurality of access devices via the at least one wireless interface; the gateway capable of receiving from at least one of the plurality of access devices, information identifying at least one of: an access device and a user; the gateway capable of collecting access statistics based upon the identified at least one of: an access device and a user, and associated accessed multimedia information; and the gateway capable of associating at least a first user and a second user based upon the access statistics and at least one threshold.
 46. The system according to claim 45 wherein multimedia information comprises at least one of: streaming video, broadcast video, voice, digital data, text, digitized audio, digitized still images, digitized video, and digitized music.
 47. The system according to claim 45 wherein the at least one wireless interface communicates at a frequency of approximately 2.4 gigahertz.
 48. The system according to claim 45 wherein the broadband network comprises at least one of: a digital subscriber line (DSL) network, a cable network, a satellite network, a cellular network, and the Internet.
 49. The system according to claim 45 wherein the information identifying an access device comprises at least one of: an electronic serial number, an Internet protocol (IP) address, a media access control (MAC) address, a directory number, an International Mobile Station Identifier (IMSI) address, a Mobile Identification Number (MIN) address, information identifying a make of an access device, and information identifying a model of an access device.
 50. The system according to claim 45 wherein the information identifying a user comprises at least one of: a member identifier, a user name, an administrative identifier, and a credit card number.
 51. The system according to claim 45 wherein the plurality of access devices comprises at least one of: a mobile multimedia handset, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a personal computer (PC), a digital scanner, a digital camera, a printer, headphones, and a pointing device.
 52. The system according to claim 45 wherein the associated users are provided at least one of: services and information, different from a non-associated user. 